K-Drama Review: The Best Hit

Here’s the thing. While I was watching The Best Hit, I’d seen so many comments saying that the drama was so unpredictable. I have no idea if it’s just me, but I felt the opposite.

So basically, a popular idol of the 90s, Yoo Hyun Jae (Yoon Si Yoon), travels to the year 2017 from his actual year, 1993. In the present time (2017), he encounters his previous manager, girlfriend, and his now 23-year-old son. He also finds out that he mysteriously disappears and dies during the year 1994. So, comedic and mildly dramatic chaos ensues as he tries to find out what exactly happened to him in the past.

The comedy aspect of the story was effective. There were definitely a lot of times when I doubled over with laughter. Who could resist anyway? Time travel dramas tend to have that element, which I probably won’t ever get tired of.

The main plot itself was also good. Mostly predictable, but executed quite well.

The romance, on the other hand, can choke on a dick and die. Way too cringey for my taste. And I’m a hopeless romantic, y’all. That says a lot.

The characters and their development

My only favorites of the show are Lee Soon Tae (Lee Deok Hwa), Drill (Dong Hyun Bae), and MJ (Cha Eun Woo). Everyone else wasn’t written in any way that sparked an interest in me. Plus, it didn’t help that the acting wasn’t great.

For the first time while watching a drama (as far as my memory serves), I wasn’t really attached to any character. Like I had favorites, but I wasn’t really emotionally invested in them. More often than not, a lot of the situations that the characters got themselves into that were supposed to strike sympathetic or romantic feelings in me didn’t work. I literally sat through some episodes where I just had a steady poker face. I think that’s when you know that your characters (also actors) weren’t written or chosen well. There wasn’t really much to work around and the characters weren’t three-dimensional or compelling. Granted that the drama wasn’t supposed to be taken that seriously, I would much rather have characters that are out of this world (for comedic and parody purposes) than those who are easy to read and generic.

There was development, especially with Yoo Hyun Jae, but it wasn’t something amazing. I’d seen it coming since the first episode. Arrogant male lead turned warm-hearted but still playful and annoying? I’ve seen that character development way too many times and frankly, it’s tiresome.

The acting

Mediocre. A lot of the acting felt bland, especially when the actors would “tsk” playfully at each other. It felt very unnatural most of the time. And if you’re wondering why I even bothered to continue watching the drama, I only stuck around because Yoon Si Yoon was phenomenal.

The cinematography

Standard. Nothing special. There wasn’t anything that really stood out to me, but it was well-shot.

The soundtrack

WONDERFUL! The soundtrack for this drama is star-studded and I really enjoyed listening to them, even if some were repeated over and over during certain scenes as well as the ending of each episode. My favorites would be Tonight (오늘 밤) by Boa and Mad Clown and of course, Sky (젊은 날의) by Yoon Mirae.